The Pacers took two of three, humiliating the Wizards twice at home during their happy days, then dropping a 13-point game at D.C. in late March.

Series revolves around…

Indiana’s defense, and Roy Hibbert’s head. It’s still hard to know whether to take either one seriously, because Hibbert was still as active as a houseplant in Games 4-5-6 against Atlanta (six points, five boards, four blocks over 49 minutes). But he had real impact in Saturday’s clincher, and if he just stays on the floor, the lane becomes a cluttered place. In the first round, one-third of John Wall and Bradley Beal’s shots came at the rim, and they hit 58 percent of them.

Key matchup

Point guard. George Hill (8.7 ppg on .370 percent shooting and 4.3 apg) didn’t get much done against the Wizards in their three meetings, but he got a lot of help against Wall — the Wiz Kid shot .340 in his three games against Indy this year, including 8-for-29 in the two losses. Wall didn’t shoot well in the Chicago series, either (.364), a reminder that when you limit his transition opportunities, he can be ordinary.

Afterthought

Give Indy credit for finding a way to win two elimination games against a 38-44 accident of history, but it was actually a result of Jersey guy David West refusing to let the season die in the last four minutes of Game 6 at Atlanta.

Our take

The Pacers are still vulnerable, but they have enough guys playing well (West and Paul George) to drag them along for another round. Indy in seven.

No. 2 Oklahoma City vs. No. 3 L.A. Clippers

Chris Paul's hamstring - and his balky shoulder - are the keys to the Clippers-Thunder series.Paul Buck/EPA

Season series

They split four games, with both teams going 1-1 at home.

Series revolves around…

Chris Paul’s hamstring. If he’s moving the way he can, the Clippers can play at the pace they need, he’ll be able to match Russell Westbrook’s filthy numbers, and he’ll be able to get his drive-and-kick game going for L.A.’s arc army. If he can’t move like he usually does — and he’s also dealing with thumb and shoulder issues — this can go south in a hurry.

Key matchup

Hyperbole alert: The power forward encounter could be a war. Blake Griffin had a good regular season against OKC (24.8 ppg, .493 shooting, 10.3 rpg), but Serge Ibaka is well-schooled in trench warfare. Ibaka will meet Griffin over the rim, and he seems to irritate him whenever the game turns chippy. But there could be a lot of cross-matching across the front, with Griffin guarding Kevin Durant, because the MVP frontrunner is far too long for Matt Barnes and Danny Granger — and he’ll feel like a free man now that Tony Allen has been sent home.
Afterthought

Overlooked in the fourth period of Game 7 was how Doc Rivers stayed with his two bigs (Griffin and DeAndre Jordan) against Golden State’s small lineup, and the two made every play they had to make at both ends.

Our take

This feels like an extension of the first round, which means it will probably be decided by the final possession of Game 7 — in which case, we prefer OKC’s shot-making ability. Thunder prevail.